Unit 2: Our World's Geography

Learning Goal: Students will be learning about the geography of our world and the location of various places and features within it by identify key concepts.

Success Criteria: I know when I am successful when I can…

Locate all of the continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica, and Australia

Locate the major oceans: Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian

Understand how to use and make a compass rose

identify various landforms and their geographical features

explain the location of various places based on direction (North, South, East, or West, or based on location in relation to the hemispheres or Equator)

What is Geography?

There are many various definitions to the term "geography," but for our purposes, we will specifically be learning the following definition:

An area of study that deals with the location of countries, cities and towns and the nature features (rivers, mountains, etc.) of each place.

For example, when we talk about the physical place in which we live, we can point to the mountains, rivers, ocean, etc. which dot our landscape. There are many different ways to divide our land in pieces to properly understand geographic regions, but the three largest are continents, countries, and provinces/states. In Grade 2, you must know the 7 continents. To remember these 7 continents, I always think of the rule - 6 As and 1 E: Africa, Asia, Antarctica, Australia, North America, South America & Europe

Glossary of terms

Continents and Oceans

In Grade 2, students are expected to identify and be able to locate the 7 continents and 5 oceans on Earth.

What are the 7 Continents? Remember the 6 As and 1 E!

North AmericaSouth AmericaAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica​Europe

What are the 5 Oceans? Remember PAISA!

Pacific OceanAtlantic OceanIndian OceanSouthern Ocean​Arctic OceanFind them all continents and ocean on the map above!

Other Key terms and Concepts from our world map

Students should also be able to relate the continents and oceans to some key concepts about our world, such as: the Equator; the North Pole; the South Pole; the Northern Hemisphere; and, the Southern Hemisphere. For example, can your child answer the questions below?

Which two continents can be found completely within the Northern Hemisphere?

Which two continents can be found completely within the Southern Hemisphere?

What is the Equator? How would you describe the temperature near the Equator?

How would you describe the temperature near the North and South Poles?

What is the only ocean completely within the Southern Hemisphere?

What is the only ocean completely within the Northern Hemisphere?

The Equator is an imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres.

The North Pole and the South Pole are the two points at either side of our Earth on the axis on which our world rotates.

Northern Hemisphere: the half of the world NORTH of the Equator.Southern Hemisphere: the half of the world SOUTH of the Equator.

Compass Roses and Cardinal Directions

What are cardinal directions?

The four cardinal directions or cardinal pointsare the directions of north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials: N, E, S, W. East and west are at right angles to north and south, with east being in the clockwise direction of rotation from north and west being directly opposite east.​

What is a 'Compass Rose'?

A compass rose is a figure on a compass or map which shows the direction of North, East, South, and West (the four cardinal directions!). This helps us read a map. Generally, on a map, up is North; right is East; down is south; and, left is West. However, we need to use a compass rose to verify this is true! If the direction are changed on the map, a compass rose will help us understand the direction our map demonstrates.

Landforms

We know that one – fourth of the earth’s surface is covered by land. The portion which forms land on earth’s surface is not the same everywhere. At some places the land may be too high, at some places very low, some areas would be lush green and certain areas are dry and barren. Our planet earth is a beautiful collaboration of various physical features.These different physical features are called the various landforms on the surface of the earth. These are geographical features that control the ecosystem, climate, weather and the essence of life on earth. In simple terms, we say that any shape on the earth’s surface is known as a landform. The various landforms that we have, came into existence due to natural processes such as erosion, wind, rain, weather conditions such as ice, frost and chemical actions. Natural events and disasters, such as earthquakes(the tectonic plates) and eruption of volcanoes, created the various shapes of the land that we see.The different major landforms are mountains (and hills), coasts, valleys, plateaus, plains and deserts.

A desert​ is dry and sandy land.

A mountain​ is higher than the land around it.

A plain is a flat landform.

A valley is low land between mountains or hills.

A coast​ is land next to the ocean.

A plateau is flat and higher than the land around it.

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